Our library system has seasons 1 and 2. Is the guy on the right Toby Jones?

That sounds very good. :)

The trailer is very appealing. My kind of humour.

Glad you liked it. What was the quote, and who is Howard Carter?

Ah. I think I remember thinking that was a slightly odd thing to say.

The Cart Grant one? I love that one.

AMDG

Yes, that's the one -- Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. The 90's remake was called The Preacher's Wife. (haven't seen it -- probably won't.)

Well, Grant's the angel and Niven's the bishop. And the what the bishop thinks the angel is helping him with is different than the reality. But yes, that's it.

My expectations were rather low too, but I was surprised by how smart and well written it was.

Funny, but the night before I had watched The Night of the Hunter, and the same actor that played Uncle Birdie in that film is the cab driver in The Bishop's Wife -- James Gleason.

And yes, Monty Woolly is great.

No, but then I haven't seen TG since it first came out in the theatre.

Thanks -- I should probably try to watch TG again while NotH is still fresh in my mind, but I'm unlikely to get to it anytime soon.

Watched a good Ealing comedy last night -- The Titfield Thunderbolt. About a small town trying to save their branch railway, which is to be converted into a bus line. Very enjoyable!

I think that the best of them are very good, but even the lesser ones have an innocent charm about them (not without a little wink of the eye, however!) that makes them lots of fun.

Watched another one last night -- A Run for Your Money. Two Welsh coal mining brothers win 200 pounds and a trip to London to collect it. Upon arrival they miss their contact at the train station, and are instead targeted by a pretty female con artist. The brothers then get separated and the movie follows their humorous attempts to find each other. It's all quite silly, but very funny at times. According to wikipedia it was very popular in England when it came out, even getting a BAFTA nomination for Best Picture in 1950.

I think that before I watched them I was expecting the comedy to be broader and more uproarious or farcical. They're wittier and more subtle, and thus "quieter" than I thought they'd be, if that makes sense.

Indeed! The first time I ever saw that was in an episode of Are You Being Served?, and I thought it was just something those silly people in the show did.

I think Kind Hearts and The Man in the White Suit seemed to rely a bit too heavily on the central gimmick. I may like these lesser known ones that you mention, Rob, better.

Well, we just watched the last four episodes of Detectorists. Hadn't really intended to--just were going to watch two half-hour episodes, but wanted to see what was going to happen. Having watched all of it now, my recommendation is only stronger.

Btw, for those who have seen it: there really is a Botswanan death metal band called Crackdust. You can find them on YouTube if you're really that curious.

I've requested The Detectorists from the library and will be watching it after Christmas.

Nothing in the spam filter.

If I were ever placed in that situation, I'm sure I would do my duty, but I hope it won't happen.

Good points about the merit of those comedies. And they apply equally to other genres. I've watched more than one crime/detective story that really was not interesting except as camp or nostalgia.

Several years ago I watched The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, also from the early '50s, and was similarly struck by some in-passing anti-television remarks. Of course the movie industry had a financial stake in the question.

And it's my fault. Or Paul's. You're welcome.

I saw his face in a clip. Didn't know what kind of role he would be playing. He was the baddy in Wayward Pines--power-mad scientist type who saves the world but kills a lot of people, too.

He was Verloc in the BBC televisation of The Secret Agent las summer. Come to think of it, I never saw the last episode of that.

Oh, and yes, you're welcome.

Is that Conrad's Secret Agent? I wasn't aware of a BBC production by that name.

Not on Netflix, alas. Maybe in time.

I've watched the first four episodes of Detectorists and really like it. Funniest thing I've seen in a long while, and I love the fact that there's no laugh track.

I like the music too. Looked up the guy who did it, Johnny Flynn, and he has a couple albums available.

I really like the opening song. I was glad when somebody finally sang the whole thing.

AMDG

Toby Jones, who plays Lance, is a very effective villain in the most recent episode of Sherlock.

"It sounds an awful lot like something from the '60s--John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, somebody like that."

Yeah, Nic Jones was who popped into my mind.

Do you mean Trump, Janet? That did cross my mind.

I actually am so far liking this new season of Sherlock better than previous ones. I'm not sure why because the plots are if anything more preposterous than ever. Maybe I just quit fighting it.

The most pronounced similarity was to Sir Jimmy Savile.

You liked the one about Eurus? I can't even watch the end of it.

AMDG

Nic Jones was well known in UK folk circles in the 60s and 70s, but in the early 80s was seriously injured in an auto accident which effectively ended his career. His best known album is Penguin Eggs, which is considered a UK folk classic. It's a brilliant record which showcases his arranging skills, his voice, and his unique guitar style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlFKwY_YgZ4

There was a revival of interest in him in the late 90s when British rocker John Wesley Harding did a tribute album called Trad Arr Jones. Harding's nowhere near the guitarist Jones was, but it's a very good album nonetheless. At that point I'd been listening to Jones for several years already and thus the Harding album came as a nice surprise.

Story related to that. A musician friend of mine is a huge fan of British folk music. He's played with Fairport Convention, knows those guys well, etc., etc. He's also a big Nic Jones fan. When Harding came to Pittsburgh not long after the Jones tribute disc came out we all went down to hear him. He was doing mostly his own material that night but threw in a couple of the Jones tunes. During the show people were calling out requests and Harding was being quite obliging. We were sitting close to the front and my friend kept calling out one particular song from the Jones album that he wanted to hear. Harding didn't respond, and then finally after probably a half-dozen songs or so, he looked at my friend and laughed and said, "Sorry, no, can't do that one, so you might as well save your breath." It was a very amusing moment.

Yeah, it's great stuff.